Oil Change Cost
 

$100.00.

Cost of oil change at one of the local independent mechanic shops.

Engine is a V8.

What is the question? None. Just a comment.

Synthetic or regular??

the oil is $30-40 now, retail and at least $10-15 for a filter so not totally out of line in the world of today

Its back to doing it at home - I can get 10 quarts of full synthetic oil from Costco (Similar I'm sure to BJs or Sam's Club) for $40 - A filter is maybe $10 so.

I'd say an oil change has $20 worth of oil and $10 for filter.

O'Reilly's has the common combo - 5 quarts of full synthetic and filter for $34.

Well worth the investment of my time.

Some V8's take 8 to 9 qts now. My 2018 Silverado takes 8.5 qts. Some of the high end German cars take even more than that!

We pay $80 for full synthetic and tire rotate.

Absolutely not worth my time to do it myself.

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That sounds fair to me….

Dan

Faithful Customer Not Going Back...
 

What I paid for synthetic + filter for a four-cylinder engine last summer. Invoice shows grease fittings were greased. :rolleye2: Tire pressures checked. :rolleye2:

Shop is two miles north of Wolfeboro Falls, who has a new and sprawling competitor across the highway. This doesn't compute!

'Saved $40 this season by using an Irving shop closer to home.

I changed my own oil from the time I was in my teens up until a couple of years ago. Now that I’m in my early 60s, getting my fat arse up and down just isn’t as easy as it used to be. I’ve been using Prompto for a couple of years. Most recent change on my GMC truck, 6 quarts synthetic and a filter was $58.00.

BT

For about $50 or so, the Walmart's in Tilton and Plymouth do oil/filter/check and top off fluids/inflate tires and I get the Castrol Edge synthetic, 5-quarts and a Fram filter. I always upgrade to a Fram best quality "gold" filter for an extra five dollars otherwise you get the cheapest Fram $3 filter and not their Fram $8 filter.

The recommended oil change is every 3000-miles, but I always go to 5000-miles before next oil change, and maintain the level by checking the dip stick at every gasoline fill-up and adding Castrol Edge 0-20, $8.50/qt, as needed which is about one quart over five thousand miles in this 2014 200-hp Subaru horizontally opposed 'Boxer' 4-cylinder engine.

Car is a 2014 Subaru Crosstrek w/ 5-speed manual and 129,000-miles, so far.

My previous car, a 2013 Toyota Scion xB, 5-speed, had an oil consumption problem and needed about 3/4 quart added at every gasoline fill-up but it still went to 221,000-miles despite the oil consumption problem before I sold it to a used car dealer for $300 who removed it away on a trailer. It also had right side, smashed doors damage from a hit & run collision so's I kept the insurance payout and figured it was time to get rid of that Scion xB but it was a very reliable and fuel efficient car despite the defective Toyota engine that was always low almost a quart on the dip stick.

Oil changes are not all the same, as several have mentioned. Quarts needed, type of oil, etc. factors in. My last diesel pickup took 10 quarts and I used high quality oil, high quality filter, did it myself and it was probably pushing 80 bucks.

The other thing is that over the past 18 months or so certain oils have not been available, Shell Rotella T6, Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck, Mobil Delvac, and several others at least. I've been in Walmart and seen shelves virtually empty of truck oil in particular.

The days of $39 speedy oil changes are long gone.

$80 Here
 

Local German Indie replace 7 Qts of oil and filter. Quick mechanical check under hood and chassis. Rotate tires and pressure check. That is not bad considering it cost $50 DIY.

Think of it as insurance
 

As a youngster, I used to do oil changes and simple maintenance on our cars. When we lived in St. Louis in the early 1990s, my good friend and co-worker changed his oil too. At the time, he had a relatively new small pickup truck. Well, you can probably guess what happened. He changed his oil and did not properly secure the drain plug. He ended up blowing his engine. After that, I started bringing my cars to a mechanic for OLFs and routine maintenance, as well as bigger things. I thought of it as a small price to pay (an insurance policy) given what can go wrong.

I hate to say it, but that is much more likely to happen at an oil change place or dealer than someone doing it themself. Speedy oil change was famous for it, had to deal with a bunch of law suits some years back.

On vehicles I do myself I install a Fumoto valve, nothing to screw in and out any more, just a lever that opens and closes. Secure and simple.

Oy, as I've said many a time, avoid the Tilton Walmart. Young technicians, high turnover of techs and managers. They stole my unused inspection sticker, broke my rocker panel, installed hubcaps poorly and I lost them on the way home, etc. Smarter people in Plymouth, I think.

Why?? My car takes synthetic oil and Chevrolet recommends changing the oil every 7,000 miles. I did that until I saw some very persuasive videos explaining why that's a terrible idea and showing the damage that results. My new mechanic told me recently that the 7,000-mile recommendation gets the car through the warranty period, after which the manufacturer doesn't care what happens to the car. I'm going back to 3,000-mile oil changes unless someone here has a reason why 5,000 or 7,000 is OK.

Like so many things, there isn't a single fits-all answer to oil change intervals.

If I had to generalize, if you are running a modern car with synthetic oil, nobody has to change faster than 5,000 miles. I generally start thinking about it at somewhere over 4,000, get around to it somewhere in the high 4's. Contrary to what you were told the automakers aren't evil geniuses that don't care if their engines fail after the warranty. Their recommendations can definitely be followed, but I choose to not push it to the max since in the course of a year changing oil a bit sooner doesn't cost much. On my diesel trucks I'd go 6-7,000 miles. One exception was a Chevy Tahoe that had the cylinder deactivation "feature", they were prone to failure and pretty solid evidence that 3,000 mile changes would tend to avoid that problem.

If you are interested enough to prove the point on a specific interval, you can do used oil analysis (UOA) to see what kind of life your oil has left and what if any wear is happening in your engine.

^^^ this

short trips and a lot of sitting can create a lot of condensation so I change the oil in my jeep once a year, even though I might only drive it 1000 miles, but my car that gets a lot of highway miles with long trips I go about 6000 -7000 and rotate the tires every other time.

my chevy truck which has the cylinder shut off mentioned above I go by the change indictor which is generally about 5000

I miss when we would use the old oil as undercoating

I have a 2020 Chevrolet and the recommended first oil change is at 7,500 miles.

In my other vehicle I put the Mobil One Extended Range Synthetic oil that says it is good for 15,000 miles. I may change the filter at 7,000 miles, just because.

I feel more confident doing my own oil changes so that the least experienced "mechanic" in the shop doesn't do that to my car.

Once, at a quality aircraft repair station where I was arriving to pick up my plane from its annual maintenance, I observed a mechanic trying to refill my engine oil.

He commented that it was taking more than expected.

His boss came over and pointed out that the spring loaded quick drain was still open and the clean oil was pouring into the drain pan.

Used to do my oil changes. However, newer vehicle has cartridge type insert filters and they are a pain to remove, drain, and then replace the element. Much happier when all I had to do was spin off the old one and replace it with a new "can". Also, getting too old to crawl under the car. Now go to dealer and have them use factory parts / oil....having the record of changes may help if engine warranty issue later.

I stopped using the dealer for service my 13 BMW was out of warranty. (I had to take it back twice to repair problems w/their service. They did them N/C but had no empathy for the time/inconvenience it caused me). I found a local shop that specializes in BMW and the first thing he recommended was to go to 7500 mile oil changes from BMWs recommended 12000. (Car uses synthetic). Not a revenue boosting ploy from him based on how much N/C repair he has done for me over past 9 years.


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Engines run so much cleaner today so if you use a good quality oil you can easily go longer between oil changes. That being said, I wouldn't go longer than 10K. As a mechanic of 50 years I've seen the damage dirty oil can do to the inside of an engine. I've used nothing but Mobil 1 for the past 40 years but I still change my own oil at 5K, just a habit I can't seem to break.

I haven’t changed my own oil since the early 70’s when I had a car I could sit on he fender with legs in the engine bay to pull the spark plugs and the only things you had to worry about if your car wouldn’t start were fuel, air, & spark. I think I just got older, busier, and maybe lazier!


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No. Here, never go to new car dealer for oil changes.

They charge the same or more than an independent shop.
Most new car dealers - the repair mechanics do not do the oil changes.
They hire the less skilled and pay less to dedicated oil change people.
There can be issues having oil changed at new car dealer.

1. My neighbor went to new car dealer in Laconia. He purchased new from that dealer. He always went to new car dealer for oil changes.
One time. Just before getting home. The engine oil light came on. He called Laconia dealer. They promptly sent a tow truck to his home. Towed/flat bed back to Laconia. See - the drain plug was not tightened when oil was changed. All of the new oil leaked out just before he got home.

2. Years/decades ago. Went to new car dealer in Belmont. For oil change.
After oil change they drive car to front of dealership.
The keys are on service desk counter. Get bill. Take keys. Pay cashier.
Then out to car.
BUT.
The car was running. No key in ignition. As I had keys in my hand.
The car was running with no key in ignition.
Oil change kid had just yanked the key out of ignition. Engine still running.
Now I have an ignition lock mechanism issue.
All done at new car dealer.

3. Oil filters. Most do not know that oil filters vary in quality and price.

HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT OIL FILTER FOR YOUR CAR

A lot of people with nice expensive cars probably stay away from Walmart for any type of car service but I have used them in Plymouth and Tilton for my 2014 Subaru Crosstrek with good results, so far.

So far, so good? ...... :eek:

I simply find the correct oil filter and tell the guy at the counter that I want to upgrade from the standard el cheapo Fram to the best Fram ..... and hand him the filter ....... which adds about five dollars to the price.

One does not see too many late model cars that cost thirty thousand dollars plus at the Walmart car service although once I did see a Porsche Cayenne at the Plymouth Walmart for four new tires ...... honest! I could not believe it, but there it was ...... holy smokes. ..... :laugh:

File this one under "Tales from the Crypt on Oil Change Cowabunga." ..... ugh!

Hey there you fans of CarFax ........ VIN JTLZE4FE7DJ031429 ...... is the number for my 2013 Scion xB which I sold to a used car guy for $300 in December 2021 ........ so, where is this car today ...... what happened to it? Did he fix up the two smashed-in doors and resell it for $3000 or what with 221,000-miles?

I used Group 7 for 50 years when I was in the business, which is the wholesale brand of Purolator. They were said to be a cheaper version of the original Purolator but I never had a problem with them. I retired 3 years ago and still recommended to my customers that if they used regular oil to change it every 3K. My Mobil 1 customers I recommended every 6K. I only used Mobil 1 for my full synthetic oil. Many of the newer SUV's have covers under the front now which can add an extra 15 minutes to an oil change so some shops are charging labor.
I recently bought a lawn mower that has no oil drain plug. The manual says never change just add as needed. If I wanted to change it I'd have to tip it upside down over a bucket. :eek:

Several years ago I bought a suction tank (looks like a garden sprayer but when you pump the handle it removes air from the tank rather then pressurizing it) to change the oil I’m my new mower for just that reason. Just couldn’t get my head around never changing the oil after seeing what it looked like when it came out of previous mowers. The tank has a long tube that slips into the filler and goes to the sump. Open the valve and the oil is sucked out. Probably doesn’t get 100% of the grit but it’s better than dirty oil I think.


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I used to have a suction pump to change the oil in a boat I had years ago because you couldn't access the drain plug. You put the tube down the dip stick and sucked the oil out. I have a Mercury outboard now, they make it so easy.
Obviously this mower that I bought is a throw away, which is exactly what they want you to do so they can sell you another one.

there are other brands but this one look ok for the money

https://www.amazon.com/FOUR-UNCLES-E...d670b6bc&psc=1

You forgot to add In a roll of paper towel, rubber gloves, loss of a sweatshirt for the oil that rolls down your arm, the GOJO to get it off your hands and arms and disposal cost of the oil since the transfer station no longer takes it for free…

With Subarus the oil filter is mounted on top of the engine.

One would need to try really hard to make a mess with that.

On my Subarus, I have installed a Fumoto valve.

I slide a plastic tube onto the valve and put the other end in my Walmart oil drain container.

A quick turn of the valve gets the hot oil flowing while I change the filter up top.

When it stops flowing I close the valve and pour in the new oil.

This results in the cleanest oil change ever!

The laconia transfer station, which I believe is in Meredith, takes my waste oil for free.

Apparently you've been watching me change oil .... :)

Checked with shop. Yes. It was synthetic.

Castrol "R"--Still Used in Model Airplanes...
 

Synthetic oil was developed in 1909 by a British firm later known as Castrol.

The original product moved from aircraft to automobile race courses--known as Castrol "R". (And known by its distinctive scent).

Following use of the pricey Castrol "R", I used "Redline" synthetic oils, as they were the only synthetic oils who advertised at the time: "Made in USA". :patriot:

Today, all are "blends", so good luck getting a straight answer. :rolleye2:

It is in Laconia. The line is up just beyond the Laconia Christian Academy.
I think several local garages and facilities have waste oil burners for space heating.
We use the Belmont Public Works... as that ''donate'' helps keep down the cost of heating the buildings that would otherwise use tax dollars.

went to walmart yesterday and there was almost nothing but synthetic and a lot of empty spaces. I usually use rotella in my truck but I read that's completely out of stock everywhere until some unspecified date

Interesting to see that, isn't it? You are seeing the same thing I mentioned in my post #11 above. Still plenty of choices for most cars but for HD trucks it can be a problem.

Not sure which Rotella you use, I did see T5 and T6 in stock at Autozone a week ago, first time I've seen T6 there in quite a while.

Used to do same. But just got too messy. And had to get/buy different oil filter removal tools. As some oil filters are hidden/stuffed into places not easily accessible.

Then the old used oil. Place into container and transport to a place that can use it or dispose of it.

Just paid $49 at Valvoline for a basic oil change WITH a $9 coupon.

Gasoline, but Especially Diesel, Temperatures, Geography, Chromium, Iron...
 

For our gearheads, a video worth watching has a chemist (and car-guy) :cool: who markets only break-in oils. :look:

The interview between "Dave" and the chemist (in the dark-framed glasses) covers a lot of ground, but the takeaway is as bolded above.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fu7PlRsqMyA

Start at minute 13 and get your best life-time sophisticated lecture on oil, rings, additives (especially zinc), fuels ⛽️, rebuilds, break-in oils, "sims" (simulated breaking-in at the bench), oil change intervals, yesterday's folklore--and more.

:eek2:

Valvoline did an oil and filter change on a new e-class MB. They did not use the specified euro spec synthetic oil and they added the wrong oil filter. The engine was trashed, and the owner sued for a new engine. MB engines aren't cheap, and they don't refurb, they import a brand-new engine from Stuttgart.

Just before a judge heard the case, Valvoline HQ decided to replace the engine at their expense. Great insurance when you have someone else do the job.